News Articles » – Change your mind, change your body

The Macomb Daily
Tuesday, January 25, 2005 (reprinted)
Change your mind, change your body
Altering your food perceptions is no snap but well worth the effort

By Maryanne Kocis MacLeod
Macomb Daily Staff Writer

Many diets work if we stick to them, but it’s those annoying internal messages that eat away at our hard-earned resolve that often sabotage the goal: “I deserve that brownie!”; “I feel so deprived!”; “I should be able to enjoy some appetizers at the party—everybody else is!”

Rena Greenberg, president of Wellness Seminars based in Sarasota, Florida and Ann Arbor; has a solution: Shift your perception.

“Subconsciously, people associate pleasure with the wrong food,” said Greenberg, a graduate of City University of New York at Brooklyn College and a certified hypnotherapist. She has led weight loss programs at hospitals throughout the country for 16 years, including St. John Macomb Hospital in Warren. “Or they’re just deeply entrenched in unproductive habits: binging, snacking, overeating, emotional eating.

“We help them change the way they think about food subconsciously,” she continued. “That way they’re naturally making healthier choices.”

On her way home from a Wellness Seminar in June 2002, Nancy Joswiak, 51, of Chesterfield Township, was so thirsty for cool, clear water, she stopped at a local drugstore and bought several bottles of her newfound elixir.

All part of the program, said Greenberg, who during the session encourages participants to drink lots of water, reach enthusiastically for fruits and vegetables, limit portion-size and/or foods that incite bingeing, like desserts or potato chips, all while enjoying-enjoying!-regular exercise.

For $59. participants take part in a 2-hour presentation which includes a 45 minute hypnosis session. During the first hour, which is free, Greenberg explains how hypnosis can be used to help break bad habits. Those uncomfortable with what they’ve heard can leave. The rest pay the fee and carry on with the hypnosis portion of the evening. A take-home package includes an audiotape and booklet. Participants are then free to return to future workshops at any time for inspiration.

“I liked the fact that there was no commitment involved, no registration,” said Joswiak, who eventually lost 35 pounds, including seven in her first week.

She gained 10 pounds back over the recent Christmas holidays, followed by a 2-week vacation—but recommitted to listening to the 20-minute, taped message and lost most of the weight.

“Of course I was disappointed, but I’m not worried about it,” said Joswiak, who plans to take a refresher course through St. John Macomb Hospital Center Feb. 8. “I feel totally in control.”

A relationship banker for Standard Federal in Clinton Township, Joswiak said she learned about the program through a neighbor who used it to successfully stop smoking. She found the format especially appealing: a one-shot deal reinforced with independent listening sessions.

Participants are encouraged to listen to the tape daily for 30 days, then reprogram themselves as needed. Many successful participants, including Joswiak, say once they’re on track, two or three times a week is all that’s needed to rebuff temptation.

“Other diet programs require you go to public meetings every week,” said Joswiak who listened to the tape every night for the first few months and finds the experience relaxing. “I don’t have time for that (weekly routine), this fits my schedule.

Since looking into Wellness Seminars more than three years ago, Gene O’Dowd, 40, of Livonia, lost and kept off 100 pounds.

As a salesman who was on the road all the time, O’Dowd’s biggest downfall was fast-food hamburgers and fries.

“It was so easy to order a quarter-pounder and fries, park the car, read the paper and slam one down,” said O’Dowd, who has since ordered and paid for a handful of the high-fat sandwiches, only to throw them out. “I’ll get my kids a couple of Happy Meals, and order something for myself. But then I’ll start thinking about what I’m doing and not want to go back down that path again.”

Since losing the weight, O’Dowd’s blood pressure and cholesterol, for which he was heavily medicated, have returned to normal. Weight loss has also enabled him to say goodbye to a wicked case of gastro-esophageal reflux disease, which left permanent damage to his intestines.

“If I feel myself slipping, I go into a room, put on the headphones and listen to the tape,” said O’Dowd, who had never been hypnotized prior to his Wellness Seminar experience, but now listens to the tape an average of twice a week.

“Everybody I know who hasn’t lost on this program, doesn’t listen. The program works, but you have to apply yourself,” he said.